A New Day
by bishop2420
Summary: The Magical World woke up one morning with its mind free. Logic, hope and happiness had returned but why had it been gone for so long?


The wizarding world awoke the week after the final death of the Dark Lord Voldemort and felt as if they had become aware of a different world. This feeling was beyond the emotional relief that would be expected because of the end of the "second war" as it had become called. This was magical and in the wizarding world that was a literal statement. It took 6 months for the rejuvenated society to discover the cause for this magical feeling and the answer was tragic and appalling. Their world had been cursed by both Albus Dumbledore and Tom Riddle aka Lord Voldemort.

Albus Dumbledore died at the age of 110. His influence over the wizarding world had been ongoing for 85 years and he had been at war or preparing for war for 60 plus years. More than half his life had been spent on a war footing and for a man of that influence and power that had unintentionally cured the entire British Magical Community into a similar state. The most obvious signs of this was at Dumbledore's seat of power, Hogwarts. Hogwarts was not just a school for magical Britain, it was and is the center of British Magical culture. Before Dumbledore's decisions to keep the wizarding world on a near perpetual war footing, Hogwarts had as many daily visits as the ministry of magic. Hogwarts was a place of learning in its most complete form. It houses a museum, a learning center, the most complete magical library in the world and was were one went to find apprenticeships.

Under Dumbledore's war mentality, only a tenth of the library was made available and a third of that was hidden in the restricted section. The museum was closed to the public, even the students, and all the priceless antiquities locked away. The public access points, including the apparition points and floo entrances were all closed. Lastly all the classes that didn't prepare students to fight for their lives and families were cancelled. This decision saw all the arts and humanities classes end at Hogwarts. British students no longer learned to play magical instruments or learned the songs and traditions that underpinned the entire society. What made this sad state of affairs even more tragic was that Dumbledore did not do it with any evil intentions. He had simply spent his life at war and thought it his duty to make sure that his students be ready for the fight that was always coming.

Professor Dumbledore's power and influence also infected the rest of their world and the ministry. Museums that had closed to protect themselves during the war with Grindelwald never fully reopened and then closed permanently during the first rise of Voldemort. The ministry library and museum also closed its doors. Pushing this mentality was the aura that Dumbledore projected. His was the greatest power of his time and all other magical being felt, even subconsciously, how Dumbledore viewed the world and reacted to that belief, either to support it or undercut it but never denying that it was the purpose of their time.

No one understood the true causes of the changes that had infected the world but for the old families, they could see the effects. For them what they saw was an attack on their culture and heritage. Their children were being denied the wonder of mermish operas and the majesty of Veela ballets. The grand tales of the four founders lost weightiness without being able to view the broken staff of Slytherin or torn Battle Flag of the house of Gryffindor. How could the genius of Rowena Ravenclaw be appreciated without looking at the family crest she weaved by hand interlaced with runes that she invented. And would anyone respect Her Grace Helga Hufflepuff if they did not know that she had planted the forbidden forest herself tree by tree.

In response to this environment, the old houses took it upon themselves to educate their children and grandchildren paying particular attention to the founder's house that they felt the greatest connection to. Into this fertilized ground arrived Tom Marvalo Riddle. Last descendent of the House of Slytherin.

Tom Marvalo Riddle started out as everything the old families could hope for. Not only was he the last descendent of a founder's house but his lack of knowledge about his own family was evidence of the perceived attack on wizarding tradition and culture. During his time in school, all the old families rallied around him, both the dark families and the light ones. He was to be the catalyst for change that they all thought was needed. Unfortunately they did not know what change they were seeking because of the subtlety of Dumbledore's power. In addition, Tom Riddle was a mean and angry child. He craved power and wanted nothing more than to take revenge on the muggles who had tried to suppress him. His anger reminded many of the stories of Salazar Slytherin and by the time he graduated only the uber conservative families, mostly Slytherins, still headed his call. By the time of his first rise he had convinced most of them that it was an effort to appease the muggleborns that had caused the decline in their culture.

Tom Riddle earned his mantle as a Dark Lord. Not only was he cruel but he was extremely powerful and excessively brilliant. His brilliance is what turned the decline in culture Dumbledore had caused and turned it into a dark malaise that permeated the country. His efforts were for their own sake as he entered the wizarding world after Dumbleore's effect had taken hold and didn't care to notice or figure it out. It was only happenstance that they worked so well to the detriment of the entire British wizarding world.

Tom loved wards, taboos and area effect curses. He loved the damage he could cause without having to be present. His first major success was the curse on the Defense position at Hogwarts. It would not have worked if not for Dumbledore closing down magical access to the castle. Hogwart's wards were nye impregnable at the time, so Voldemort set up a ward just outside the wards of the castle. It was an intent ward that cursed any person crossing it with the intention of teaching DADA. The curse was similar to the ones put on Egyptian tombs, used as punishment against grave robbers. It was a simple curse and was one that most wizards could dismantle after their first year of Ancient Runes but one would have to know its there to counteract it. Voldemort had put it next to the castle wards so that even though every magical person felt it as they crossed it, they all assumed it was just part of the Hogwarts ward set that could also be felt as a tingle in your magic.

Flush with success, Voldemort put similar wards on the outer perimeter of all the light families homes. As he became more cruel and proficient he went back and layered in various other protections unto his ward line. First making them invisible and then tying them into his Slytherin Heritage. The bad luck and bad Karma aspects of the original curse followed the people who crossed them everywhere. Not only did it cause misfortune but it also caused families to overlook important things. Families who had always had magnificent defenses started to miss cracks that needed constant repair and maintenance. No only had Voldemort's wards made it easier to penetrate home defenses but it made for bad decision making. Voldemort's wards were responsible for the decision of the Potters to leave Potter Manor and move to Potter Cottage, it was responsible for Bones Manor having a hole in its wards that no one could remember to close, it was responsible for the Wizengamott not taking his first or second rise seriously.

In his cruelty and disdain for everything, Voldemort had started planting his ward throughout Britain, even on his own follower's homes. In the end he had effectively cursed the entire country. When his final death came and with it the death of the last of the Slytherin line, all the wards around the country that was tied to that heritage started to deteriorate. That in combination with 2 years without Albus Dumbledore's influence is what caused the rebirth of the wizarding world one glorious summer morning.


End file.
